Linguistic Survey of India

BhTl dialects and KhandE^L

The border country between Rajputana, Central India, the Central ProTinoes, and
the Bombay Presidency is inhabited by many tribes known under rarious names, such as
Bhils, Ahirs, and so forth.

Their home may be described m an irregularly shaped triangle, with the apex in the

Area within which spoken. ^^^^^^^^ ^^"'' ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^S^^^ Corresponding to the

south-eastern frontier of the district of Khandesh. The
frontier line goes south-westwards from the AraTalli Eange, including liie south-eastern
corner of Sirohi, and, farther to the south, including Mahiiantha and the eastern portion
of Rewakantha. The population of the Surat District and the Surat Agency, and of the
Kawsari division of the laroda State, is mostly Bhil, and we also find them in Thana and
Ji^whar, and even further south, in Ahmednagar. From the south of Bharampur, in the
Surat Agency, the frontier of the Bhil- Ahir country proper turns first eastward and then
northward including the north-western strip of the district of Nasik. It then crosses
Nasik, leaving the greater — southern — part of that district to Marathi, follows the south-
eastern frontier of Khandesh, includes a strip of the Melkapur Taluka of Buldana and
the Burhanpur Tah^l of Nimar. Thence it turns northwards to the Nerbudda. In
Bbopawar, however, Nimari is spoken in a large, circular, ar^t to the west of the Nimar
district. The frontier line then follows the Nerbudda towards the east, and then goes
northwards to the Vindhya, where it turns westwards up to near tbetown of Indore,
whence it runs in an irregular bow up to the Aravalli Hills, including the western por-
tion of Jhabua and Ratlam, Banswara and the west of Fartabgarhi Dungarpurand
the hilly tracts of the Mewar State.

Outside of this territory we find Bhil tribes in various districts of Berar, and
similar dialects are spoken by wandering tribes in the Punjab, the United Provinces, and
even in the Midnapore district of Bengal. Ahirs are found all over Northern India, but
it is only in Cuteh that their dialect resembles that spoken by the various Bhil tribes
and by the inhabitants of Khandesh,

The number of speakers of the various dialects wHl be given in detail in the

following pages. We shall here only state the general results.

Number of speakers. _ ^ ,,

Ihey are as follows : —

Bhil dialects . 2,689,1C9

Khandeii (and its sub-dialects) ....... . . 1,253,066

ToTAii . 3,942,176

The dialects in question are mostly bounded towards the north and east by the
. ,. . . . various dialects of Rajasthani, towards the south by Marath!,

Lifigutstic boundaries. j » j n j

and towards the west by Marathi and Gujarati.
Among the dialects spoken witiiin the territory sketched above there is one, viz.^
Relation to other indo-Aryan KhandMi, wMch has hitherto been classed as a form of

vernaculars. nyt -ir rm .

Mamthi. Ihe ensuing pages will, however, show, on the
one side, that the so-called Bhil dialects gradually merge into the language of

2 bhIl dialects akd khIkdEII.

Khandesh, on the other tliat Khcinde^i itself is not a Marathi dialect. Soreml
suffixes, it is true, are identical with those used in Marathi. But most suffixes and the
inner form of the language more closely agree with Gujarat! and Rajasthani.

The northern and eastern dialects conneet Qujarati with Rajasthani, while, in the

west, there runs a continuous line of dialects southwards towards the broken Marathi

dialects of Thana. The influence of Marathi increasc^i m wo go f^outhwards, and these

forms of speech are thus a link between that language and Gujarati. This latter

language is, however, everywhere the original base, and the gradual approaching

the principles of Marathi in struoture and inflexional system seems to be; due to a

secondary development. It should, however, be remembered that the inner Indo- Aryan

languages and those of the outer circle have, at an early date, met and influenced each

other in Gujarat and the adjoining districts.

The relation existing between the dialects in question and other Indo- Aryan
vernaculars will be defined in greater detail in the ensuing pages. In this place wo rnust
confine ourselves to some general remarks.

The short a has, in many dialects, the broad sound of <? in * hot.' Thu^, pog and pag^

foot. The same is the case in Rai^thanl dialects and in

Pronunciation. . .

Konkani, but usually not in those dialects where the Harathi
inftuence is strongest. ^ takes the place of a in Simhi, and also, to §omc extent, in
Jhabua.

The palatals commonly become ^-sounds, especially in the north. The same is the

case in Gujarati and Rajasthani dialects, and we may also compare the pronunciation of

ch and/ as tg and cto> respectively, in Marathi and in the Charotari dialects of Gujarati.

S very commonly developes to a sound which is described as something between A

and B. The real sound seems to be that of ch in ' loch.' This pronunciation is quite

common everj^where in the eastern part of Gujarat. As we go westwards and eastwards,

this sound becomes an ordinary A as in some dialects oE Gujarat! and Malvi. In the

south, on the other hand, an 8 usually remains. The letter h itself is very commonly

dropped, as is also the case in Gujarati and Rajasthani dialects.

There is a strong tendency to substitute hard for soft mutes. This is especially the
case with soft aspirates, and forms such as kodo or khodo, instead of ghodo, a horse, are
quite common. There are also many instances of the hardening of unaspirated soft
letters. Thus ^ifo and lido, taken; tdhl and ddhl, a cow, and so on. The palatal.;
seems to be especia ly apt to be hardened, and is very often pronounced as an 8. The
emphatic particle ch in Khande^i is perhaps due to this tendency and is not identical
with the Marathi 1^.

In many dialects a medinl r is frequently elided, as in koi, for kaH, having done ;
mbu9 for maru, I may die ; dun, for rf«r, far ; all of which are quoted from the Mawohi
of Khandesh.^

These last two peculiarities, — the hardening of soft mutes, and the elision of medial
^^ — also occur in the languages of North-Westem India (Sindhi, Lahnda, and PiSacha),
as well as in some dialects of Bengali (notably Rajbaiigli), all of which belong to the
Outer Band of Indo- Aryan Languages.

^ See alto pp. 69, 84, 105, 110, 119, and 158.

GENEKAL INTEODITCTION, 3

Tlie inflexion of nouns is mainly the same as in Gujarati. In the south we find
,^^y„g some instances of the use of the Marathi oblique form, not,

however, as a regular feature. Khandeli has developed a
separate oblique form of the plural ending in es or «. In Ahiri we find a simiiar form
ending iu e. An « is very often added to the base in many dialects ; thus, bd and M^,
a father. Similar forms are common in the Marathi dialect of the Central and Northern
Konkan.

Strong masculine bases form their plural in a as in Gujarati. In the dialects
spoken in the soutibern part of Bewakantha, in Khandeli, and in the Bhil dialects
spoken between that district and the s^a, however, we also find the Marathi form ending
in €.

The case suffixes are the same as in Gujarati. As in some Gujarati dialects, the
ablative suffix is u&ually inflected in the same way as the genitive suffix. In addition
to the form tho^ etc., it also occurs as Ao, etc., compare Eajasthani. The n of the suffix ne
of the dative is often replaced by I especially in the south and wast. It then also some^
times assumes the Marathi form Id.

Ihe suffixes of the genitive and the dative are usually no and ne^ respectively.
There is also another pair of suffixes ho and A^, respectively . These suffixes are apparently
confined to the west, from Sunth and southwards. We meet them again in the broken
Marathi dialects of the Northern Konkan.

The personal pronoun of the first person usually forms its nominative singular as in

Gujarati ; thus, hUi I, with several slightly varying forms.
We also find forms such as mu in the dialects which lead over
to Malvi, and in the south and west the Marathi form ml gradually gains ascendancy.
The present tense of the verb substantive is chhu^ etc., in Gujarati and Eastern
Verbs. Rajasthanii and hu^ etc., in Western Eajasthani. The future

tense is usually formed by adding an «-8uffix in those dialects
where * I am ' is chhui and an A-suffix where the corresponding form is hu. Periphrastic
future forms are used besides, an inflected Id being added in the east, and an indeclin*
able Id in the west. We also find a ^d-suj^Bx in Malvi and some dialects of Marwaii.

All these forms occur in the various Bhil dialects. The A-form of the present tense
of the verb substantive prevails in the dialects spoken in the AravaEi Hills, and neigh-
bourhood, such as Mag^ri and Ny ar ; in the hilly tracts of the Mewar State, in Partabgarh,
Batlam, and Dhar. It is further the common form in the Bhil dialects of Mahikantha,
the Sunth State of Bewakantha ; the Nori dialects of AH Kajpur ; the Mawchi dialect of
Khandesh, and the various forms of Bhili spokea in the Nausari Division of the Baroda
State and neighbourhood, such as Bani, Chodhri, Gamti, Naik'^di. The Marathi forms
of the verb substantive begin to be used in the south, and are prevalent in most forms of
Konkanl

The future is formed by adding an A-suffix in most of th^e dialects. In the north,
however, in Merwara, we find the Jaipuri future ending in W, and in Batlam, Partab-
garh and Dhar we have the gro-futuM of Malvi.

The c A* -form of the verb substantive often replaces the initial chh with s. The
s-f orm prevails in the Bhil dialects of the Panch Mahals, Jhabua, Chhota TTdaipur, and

b2

4 BHILI ANB KHANBESI.

Rajpipla, and the cAA-form in the Lunawada and Baria States of Rewakantfha ; in
All Raj pur, Barwani, and over the greater portion of Khandesh.

The future is formed by adding an A-suffix in the Panch Mahals, Jhahua, Chhota
Udai pur, and Rajpipla. An 5-suffix is adopted in Lunawada, Bharia, Khandesh, Ali
Rajpur, and Bharwani, in the latter district the ao-su ffix of Nimari and Malvi being
used as well.

The present tense of finite verbs is commonly formed as in Gujarati and Raj-
asthani by adding the verb substantive to the old present. In the west and south there
is, however, a tendency to substitute the present participle for the old present, jBrst
apparently in the plural, and then, afterwards, in the whole tense. Khandeli has
remained in the intermediate stage, and has regularly forms such as padm^ he falls;
padHas, they fall. Further details will be found later on.

The past tense is usually formed as in Gujarati. As in that language and in Eastern
Hindi, a suffix m or 'tio is used as well as the ordinary yo-suffix. L6 is often substituted
for no^ just as I and n interchange in the suffix of the dative*

The %c-suffix is occasionally also used in the present tense. It is not certain
whether it is identical with the l-suffix in Marathi or not. It is also possible to think of
a connexion of the ^.-suffix which forms relativ^e participles in Telugu and other
Drayidian languages. If no is identical with Marathi W, its wide use in Bhili must
be accounted for by the use of the old ^-suffix (Prakrit ilia) at a period when it was
still a pleonastic suffix without being limited to the past tense.

The future, the verbal noun, and the conjunctive participle, are formed as in
Gujarati. As we approach the Marathi territory, however, the forms of that language
begin to appear and gradually gain ascendancy.

The preceding remarks will have shown that the position assigned to the dialects
n question is correct, and that they are in reality more closely related to Gujarati and
Rajasthani than to any other Indo- Aryan vernacular. The same result may be derived
from a comparison of the vocabulary. We are not, however, able to make any statement
in this respect regarding Khandesi. As to the Bhil dialects, the Rev. Oh. 1 hompson has
calculated that about 84 per cent, of the words found in the Bhil dialect of Mahikantha
may be derived from Sanskrit and correspond to words used in Gujarati. About 10
per cent, are of Persian descent, and the remaining six cannot as yet be traced.

We shall now proceed to consider the various dialects in detail, and first turn to
the so-called Bhil dialects.

bhTlT or BHILODT.

The BMls are known iitjder a bewildering variety of names. On account of their

daik colont they are often called Sail p(frajf the black
people. The only comprehensive name is, however, BAll,
the Sanskrit Bhilla} Ethnographioally they are sometimes stated to be Dravidians,
and sometimes to belong to the Mnnda stock. Accounts of the various tribes are
found in the Census Reports and the Bistrict Gazetteers. I^ this place we have
only to do with their language. Whatever their original speech may have been,
there can be no doubt that, at the present day, they speak an Aryan dialect, closely
related to Gujarat! and Rajasthani.

Number of speakers. Bhili has been reported from the following localities : —

No. of upeatten.

Mewar State 101,600

Banswara and Kuslialgarli ....,,.-. 136,700

Dnngarpxir 67,000

Partabgarh . . . . . , , , . . . 26,000

Western Malwa Agency .......#. 56,000

Bhopawar Agencj ........ . . 440,500

Mahikantha .•......,,. 10,200

The Dangs 970

Na^ik ............ 37,000

Abn^ednagar ..« ..,,.., . 1,000

Panch Mahals , . , 108,300

Bewakantba . 101,000

Khandesh ............ 55,000

Bnldana 575

E^Hchpur .•..,,..,... 252

Basim ..,,.,...... 375

Nimar ............ 21,500

Total . 1,168,872

To this total must be added the speakers of severeal minor dialects which haTe
been horjoui ed with separate names. The details will be found under the sinsrle dialects.
The general facts are as follows :r-~

Hanifi of dliilect.

Whtre ipoken.

Ko. of tpeakcrt.

Ahlr! .....

Anirya (».«. 'Non-Arjan') or
PaMdl.

Baorl .....

BaT«l . , . . .

Catch .

Rewakantha ......

Punjab, Rajimtana, and United Pronnces .
Obhota Udaipnr . . • . .
Panoh Mahals and Thana . •

Carried oyer

30,500
43,500

43,000
1.000
1,200

11<»,200

^ It if not i nposs'thle that Hhtlla itft^lf it re%Uy a Prakrit corruption ol Ahh\t9, wblcli hai been Adopted agalOi in Hilt
lornijby Saniikiit.

6

BHILI OB BUILODI.

N&me of diftloet.

Where tpokin. {

i

Ko. of speakerf.

!

Brought forward

119,200

CllddiiM

Sarat and Kawsari ....

121,258 ,,

Pdhawali .

Khandesb ••••.*

45,000

PhOdia

•

Surat and Tbana . . « . >

60,000

jpubli

^bana and Jawbar ....

14,050

Gam»|i

Surat and Nawsari ....

48,715

Gir&sia

Marwar and Sirobi ....

90,700

HftbGra

United Provinces .....

2,596

KOiikai>i

Hawsari, Surat, Surgana, Naeik, Kbandesb.

232,613

Kdtali

Kbandesb .....

.40,000

Mag'i'a ki boli

Menvara • . • . • *

44,500

Maw»clii

,, ......

30,000

Nahan or B&glanl

Nasik and Snrgana ....

13,000

Naik»di

Rewakantba, Pancb Mabals, and Smrat

12,100

Panch&Ii

Bnldana .•••..

660

Par'dbl

Berar and Cbanda .....

5,410

P5wM

Kbandesb ....,,

25,000

Hauawat

Nimar , • . ....

500

KaniBhil .

N aw sari . . ....

87,540

Rath^vi

, . Rewakantha ......

8,000

Siyalgir

. Miduapora ......

120

WagMl

, 1 Rajputana, Central India, and Bombay
' Presidency,

525,375

i Total

1,526,237

By addiBg these fi

total :—

gures to those giyen aboTe we arriye at

the following grand

BhUi

Minor Dialects

Total

1,163,872
1,525,237

2,689,109

Bhrl dialects.

Ihe territory occupied by the Bhil tribes is a rather extensiye one, and there

are, as might be expected, differences of dialect in the
different parts of the Bhil country. Towards the north and
east the dialects of the Bhils gradually merge into the various forms of Rajasthani.
In the west and south the influence of Marathi gradually increases. Thus the southern-
forms of K5nkani are almost Marathi and gradually merge into some broken dialects of

INTRODUCTION.

tbe Northern Konkan, such as Var^li, Phud'^gi, Sainvedi, and Vad^ral, which hare now
become real Marathi dialects, though their original base must have agreed with Bhili.
More towards the east the Bhil dialects gradually approach KhandMi, and at the
Kbandesh frontier, in Northern Nasik and in the Bangs, they are almost pure Khande^i.
The Bhil dialects, therefore, form a continuous chain, between Bajasthani, through
Gujarat! and Khacde^i, and Marathi. In most cases, however, the Marathi influence is
only of a quite superficial kind, and the general character of the dialect remains Gujarati.
In Nimar, the Bhili seems to have been more strongly influenced by Marathi than else-
where, the specimens forwarded from that district being written in a corrupt Marathi,
see below, p. 174. From Berar only one set of specimens has been received. It had
been prepared in Basim and was written in a form of Gondi. The>pecimen will be dealt
with in connexion with that latter form of speech. The reported number of speakers
from Berar has, however, been added in the figures given above. It seems probable that
the Gondi-speaking Bhils simply employ the language of their neighbours.

Specimens will be given in the following pages of the various Bhil dialects. They
will be arranged according to principles which it will be necessary to point out in this
place.

The best known among all Bhil dialects is that of Mahikantha. It is the main
basis of the Bev. Ch. Thompson's Bhil grammar. Mahikantha is also a oonvenienfc
starting point if we desire to follow the various ramifications of the Bhil dialects, and
the form of Bhili spoken there has accordingly been dealt with as Standard Bhili.

It is closely related to Gujarati. The present tense of the verb substantive, however,
does not begin with chh, but with an A-sound which seems to correspond to the ch in
' loch/ The same sound is also the characteristic of the future tense.

To the north-east of Mahikantha lie the hilly tracts of the Mewar State where
Bhili is the principal language. The dialect is almost the same as in Mahikantha.
There are, however, traces of the influence of the neighbouring Marwari. Thus the
periphrastic future ending in -go begins to occur in Kotra.

The influence of Marwari incraases as we proceed northwards along the Aravalli
hills, where we [^find the so-called Girasia or Nyar. Still farther to the north, in the
southern portion of the Merwara State, we find the dialect Mag*ri which is almost pure
Marwari.

If we return to Mahikantha we can trace another series of dialects forming a link
with Malvi. They are spoken to the east of Mahikantha, in Dungarpur, Banswara
Partabgarh, Ratlam, and Bhar. The present tense of the verb substantive be^^ins with
an hy and the future is usually formed periphrastically by adding ^go. In Eatlam we
also find the chh form of the present tense of the verb substantive which is common in
the dialects to the west of the State.

We again return to Mahikantha. The Bhili of the Sunth State of Rewakantha is
almost identical with the dialect spoken in Mahikantha. Proceeding towards the east
we find, in the eastern portion of the Panch Mahals, a dialect of Bhili which may be
considered as the central link in a chain connecting Nimari in the east with Standard
Gujarati in the west. The present tense of the verb substantive begins with 8 while the
characteristic element of the future is an A. The same is the case with the dialects
spoken in Jhabua, and with the Bhil dialects of Chhota TJdaipur and Bajpipla of the
Rewakantha Agency* The Bhili of the two last-mentioned districts, however, has so

8 BHIIiI OB BfllLOpi.

many points of analogy with the dialects spoken farther south and gradually approaching
Marathi that they will be dealt with in connexion with them.

The BMl dialects of Ali Eajpur and Bar\\ ani, on the other hand, will be dealt with
in connexion with those spoken in the Panch Mahals and Jhabua. The present tense
of the verb substantire here begins with chh and the future is formed by adding an
«-suffix. In Barwani the Bhil dialects gradually merge into Nimari, and we ocoa-
sionaliy also find the periphrastic future formed by adding a gd. From Ali Kajpur we
sball proceed westwards through a series of dialects which gradually merge into Standard
Gujarati. The present tense of the verb substantive begins with chh and th^ future is
formed by adding an b. These dialects are spoken in Baria, the western portion of the
ranch Mahals, and in Lunawara, The dialect spoken in the Halol taluka of the Panch
Mahals and in Lunawara is called Naik^di. This dialect is also spoken in Surat where it
has come under the influence of Marathi. All the various forms of Naik'di will therefore
be dealt with later on.

The dialect of the Ahirs in Cutch, on the other hand, is closely related to Gujarati,
and will be dealt with in tbis connexion. It, however, also agrees with Marathi in
several points, and we shall therefore proceed from Ahiri to a series of dialects which
runs down from Rewakantha and gradually approaches Marathi and Khande6i

We shall begin these with the dialects spoken in Chhota Udaipur and Rajpipla of
the Rewakantha Agency. They agree with the Bhili of the eastern Panch Mahals in
the formation of the present tense of the verb substantive and of the future. The
former begins with chh and the suffix of the future is A or J.

In those dialects we meet with a new feature.

The usual present tense in Gujarati and Bajasthani is formed by adding the verb
substantive to the conjunctive present. Thus, Gujarati hu karu chhu, I do.* In Maratbi
the same tense is formed froni the present participle. Thus, ml karit§, I do. The forms
used in Khandesi agree with Gujarati in the singular and with Marathi in the plural.
Thus, karaa, he does ; kar^tm, they do.

The northern Bhil dialects mainly agree with Gujarati and Bajasthani. In
Chhota Udaipur, on the other hand, the KhandeSi and Marathi forms begin to appear.
Thus, chhut I am ; chhe and chhatah, they are. Compare also forms such mjdtHu ohhe^
thou goest.

Paw^i, a dialect spoken in the north of Khandesh, will be dealt with between the
Bhili of Chhota Udaipur and that spoken in Bajpipla. It is closely related to the
Barel dialect of Chhota Udaipur, and leads, on the other hand, over to Khand6^i.

In Rajpipla we begin to find the Marathi present of the verb substantive, ahe.
That form is more closely related to he than to chhe. J3e,! is, and the A-suffix of the
future tense prevail in the southern dialects of Naik*di, and the various forms of that
speech will therefore be dealt with after the Bhili of Rajpipla.

The A-form of the present tense and the corresponding A-future also prevail in
Maw*chi, spoken in the eastern part of Khandesb, and in the Nori dialect of Ali

Rajpur.

The same is the case with the various Bhil dialects spoken in the Nawsari
Division of the Baroda State and neighbourlitg districts, such as Ra^i, Chodhri. Qaipti,
and Dhodia. Kani may be considered as the link connecting the southern forms of
Bhlll with Paw'^ri and the dialects of Chhota Udaipur and Rajpipla. It shares the

INTBODXrCTION. 9

ablatire suffix dehh with Paw^ Both dialeote begin to iise the Marathi form of the
plural of strong masculine bases, as is also the case m Rajpipla and Khandesh. The
possessive pronouns are ma, my ; ta, thy, aa in Rajpipla, lUSw'cM, and other connected
dialects. The plural, and sometimes also the singular, of the present tense is formed
from the present participle, and so forth.

The other Bhil dialects of Nawsari have still more traces of the influenoe of
Marathi, and the various forms of the so-called Konka^ gradually merge into the
broken Marathi dialects of Thana.

In Nasik, Konkani merges into several Bhil dialects which are almost identical
with Khandfili.

Before proceeding to deal with that form of speech we shall have to consider some
dialects which have been more or less influenced from various sources.

In the first place the Bliili of Nimar. That dialect has been largely influenced
by the Marathi of the Central Provinces, though it preserves sufficient traces of its
different origin.

Then we shall have to deal with Bhil dialects spoken by some vagrant tribes, t^fe.,
Baori, Habiira, Par*dhi, and Siyalgiri.

It should be borne in mind that the Bhils are not of Aryan origin, and that th^
Non.Aryan element, ^^^®' accordingly, adopted a foreign tongue. We cannot
under such eircumstances expect the same consistency as
in the case of the genuine Aryan yemaoulars, and as a matter of fact we often meet
with a state of affairs that reminds us of the mixed character of the langui^e of
other aboriginal tribes, which have, in the course of time, adopted the speech of their
Aryan neighbours.

The Bhils have sometimes been considered as originally a Dravidian rao^ and some-
times as belonging to the Munda stock. We are not as yet in a position to settle the
question.

The various Bhil dialects contain several words which do not ^pp^r to be of
Aryan origin. Some of them seem to be Munda j thus, tahi^ a cow j hodo^ back. Oom-
pare Mundari tdh% to milk a cow ; Kharia bod^ back,

III other cases there is apparently a certain connexion between Bhili and Dravidian.
Compare ^flfZpa, head; tollf a cow; dkhHo^ a bull; with Tamil |0{^», head; Goijii^
falh a cow ; Kanarese dkalUf a cow, and so forth.

It would not, however, be safe to base any conclusion on such stray instances
of correspondence. We have not, as yet, sufficient insight into tilie relationship
between the Tocabularies of the Dravidian and Munda families. There can be no
doubt that both have several words in common, especially in those districts where
the two families meet. We are not, however. Justified in concluding from such facts
that these forms of speech are deriyed from the same base. It seems much more probable
that they are both to some extent mixed languages, representing the dialects of the
different races which have, in the course of time, invaded India* Each new race to some
extent absorbed the old inhabitants, whose language left its maark in the grammar and
Tocabulaiy of the new invaders.

10 BttlLi OR BHILOpt.

We must, therefore, leare the question about the origin of the nbn- Aryan element
in Bhili vocabulary open until further investigations have thrown more light upon the
relationship of the different linguistic families of India.

There are, on the other hand, a few points in BMli gramnaar which apparently show
some connexion with Dravidian forms of speech. They are not, however, numerous
and quite insuflBcient to prove a closer connexion. The principal ones are as follows.

Soft aspirated lettei^ are commonly hardened. Thus, khord^ a horse ; phdi^ a
brother. A similar hardening ol* unaspirated soft letters occurs in some Bhil dialects.
See below. This state of affairs can perhaps be compared with the hardening of
initial soft consonants in Dravidian. Compare, for example, Telugu kilmmu, Sanskrit
gharma^ heat.

The neuter gender is sometimes used to denote female beings, just as is the case
in Telugu, Gondi, etc. Thus, hair it, a wife ; bairn, wives. The same is also the
case in the Marathi dialects of the coast where Dravidian influeiice is probable.

In this connexion we may also note the fact that the pronoun /w, this, has the
same form for the feminine and neuter singular, just as is the case with the demon-
strative pronouns in Telugu. The pronoun du, this, can further be compared with
Tamil a-di*, that, »-rf/g, this, and similar forms in other Dravidian languages.

Finally, we may note the suffix n of the past tense. It is, of course, quite possible
that this suffix is identical with the Aryan I in Marathi and other languages. On
the other hand, it can also be compared with the Dravidian suffix n. Compare
Tamil ddu-nen, Iran* llie Dravidian w-suffix has, in other dialects, a very wide use,
and this fact can perhaps be adduced in order to explain the occurrence of the
«-suffix in Bhili in other tenses than the past. The Aryan ^suffix is, however, also
used outside the past tense and was originally a common derivative suffix.

It would not be safe to urge such points. They are not of sufficient importance
to furnish a conclusive proof. We should, however, remember that the Bhils belong to
Western India where we might reasonably expect to find remnants of the old Dravidian
population, and such strong grammatical characteristics as have just been mentioned
make the supposition the more plausible that the Bhils have once spoken a Dravidian
dialect. It is even possible that their original language was a JMuuda form of speech,
which was in its turn superseded by a Dravidian tongue.

LINGUISTIC SURVEY OF INDIA

COMPILED AND EDITED BY

G. A. GRIERSON, CLE., Ph.D., DXitt., I.ca (retd.)

© MOTILAL BANARSIDASS

BUNGALOW ROAD, JAWAHAR NAGAR, DELHI-?

NEPALI KHAPRA, VARANASI, (U.P.)

ASHOK RAJ PATH, (opp. patna college) PATNA (bihar)

With kind permission of Govt, of India,

FmsT Edition 1927

reprint 1967

Priee Rs. 1250/- ($ 200) for the complete set*

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